Bangalore Aviation News, Reviews, Analysis and opinions of Indian Aviation
Related Articles
A Kingfisher Airlines Aerospatiale ATR-72-500, registration VT-KAC performing flight IT-4124 from Bhavnagar skidded off the runway and crashed at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) at 16:40 local (11:10Z). 42 passengers and 4 crew were evacuated safely, no injuries occurred to the passengers and crew.
It appears the plane overran the runway, skidded and came to rest on soft ground at the end of the runway.
The accident resulted in a two hour closure of one of India’s primary airports which handles over 650 flights per day, at the peak operating hour. There were wide disruptions of flights.
Due to ongoing maintenance, on Tuesdays the main runway 27 at Mumbai is shortened between 12:00 to 18:00 local with a displaced threshold of 1,232 meters from the original, as runway 27A
There was rain and reduced visibility at the time of the incident and already there is speculation if the pilots ignored the guidelines of the Indian Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) of not landing in poor weather.
The aircraft has received substantial damage to the nose gear, left hand main gear, left wing tip and left hand propeller. Repeated queries to the airline failed to elicit any response on whether the aircraft is salvageable. This picture from veteran plane spotter Sean D’Silva show extensive damage and it appears the aircraft may have to be written off.
A Kingfisher Airlines spokesperson said:
Kingfisher Airlines’ flight safety department will conduct a full inquiry into the incident and cooperate fully with the DGCA team that will probe this incident. Pending the investigation, the pilots have been de-rostered. We sincerely regret the inconvenience caused to our valued guests on this account.
This is the second time a Kingfisher flight has skidded off the runway. Earlier this year in April, a Kingfisher Airbus A320 VT-KFT was involved in an accident at Bengaluru International Airport.
In June this year, another Kingfisher A320 VT-ADR was involved in an incident at Bagdogra airport where the plane’s wingtip was damaged after it hit a bunker near the runway.
Metars:
VABB 101210Z 05010KT 2400 -RA FEW012 SCT015 FEW030CB OVC090 23/21 Q1003 NOSIG
VABB 101140Z 05009KT 2100 -RA FEW012 SCT015 FEW030CB OVC090 24/22 Q1003 NOSIG
VABB 101110Z 07007KT 2300 -RA FEW012 SCT015 FEW030CB OVC090 24/22 Q1003 NOSIG
VABB 101040Z 06005KT 2800 -RA FEW012 SCT015 FEW030CB OVC090 25/22 Q1003 NOSIG
VABB 101010Z 07005KT 2800 -RA FEW012 SCT015 FEW030CB OVC090 26/22 Q1003 NOSIG
VABB 100940Z 05007KT 2600 -RA FEW012 SCT015 FEW030CB OVC090 26/23 Q1003 NOSIG
Metars courtesy AvHerald
